Life After Clockwork Princess
by TessaCollins
Summary: My idea about what Jem and Tessa's life might be like together after the end of Clockwork Princess in modern day (well, 2008, but still...). These characters and the wonderful world they belong to are the work of Cassandra Clare and her incredible Infernal Devices series (I quote some of the themes in those books, you may notice). All credit to her for the characters and world.
1. New Beginnings

Tessa and Jem had been living together in a loft apartment in Manhattan for nearly a week now. Still every morning when she awoke and wandered into their small and charming yellow and blue kitchen, she wondered at the simple miracle of Jem. For 130 years, Tessa had been alone without the touch of someone who loved her, without Will, and without Jem, the boys who loved her. Her friends, of course, like Magnus and Catarina had supported her and cared for her as friends do, but she hadn't known the thrill of romance with someone she knew so well as Jem and trusted in the love for her of. Jem was gentlemanly, and treated her as he had before their engagement, with affection, love, even passion, but nothing that bespoke of impropriety by the standards of the late 1800s. He slept on the couch every night, and she in her bedroom.

They had stayed up late that first night after meeting for the first time as just people, not a warlock and a member of the Silent Brotherhood meeting illegally once a year at Blackfriars Bridge, and spoke of their plans together. Tessa wanted to travel, but they had decided to stay in New York for a few weeks to find their routines together once more. Jem had also proposed to her again, on his knees with his lovely violinist's hands grasping hers as they had done in another time. She had blushed darkly and laughed that he needn't propose again, since he had before, and technically, their engagement still stood. That had been nearly a week ago, and they hadn't made any plans or decisions since. After all this time, she still felt shy to ask anything of Jem, her memory forever burned with the images of his delicate body, doubled over and coughing up blood. She was loathe to pressure him in any way, especially for the questions she wanted to ask him, scared that they might pain him.

He was now a strong, formidable Shadowhunter, no longer dependent on the _yin fen _that had stolen through his blood like a disease, his body fighting to survive upon the demon's poison. The idea of someone so delicate, or even someone who had been so in the past, in her care, terrified Tessa, and she worried even now that this could not last, with the knowledge of her life vast and infinite before her. Even with his strength now, how would he be in thirty years? In fifty? The idea of Jem's death was too painful a theory to even contemplate. She wanted to marry him, and soon, for even though his time was not as limited as it had once been, it still was that: finite, and hers was not.

As she meandered down the hall past the white medicine cabinet built into the robin's-egg-blue wall, she heard Jem humming in the kitchen cooking eggs and bacon and the pomegranate-red teakettle whistling. She heard him move about, and pour the hot water into mugs, still humming a tune that caught on the edge of her memory.

After so many years and experiences, it was sometimes difficult for her to pick out precise memories among the vast sea of them. She had once asked Magnus how he dealt with this problem, for she knew that he was older than her, and had likely encountered it. He said simply, "we forget the things that don't matter, and we forget the things that do. Hold on to the memories you want to keep, and let the rest fall through". That had been nearly fifty years ago, at a time when she had already forgotten the precise blue of Will's eyes or how he looked blinking sleepily at her every morning when she reached across their bed each morning to wake him. The memory of the song surfaced now, and she remembered laying with her head on Will's chest in that bed the night he had died, the ever-weakening beat of his heart keeping faint time with the sound of Jem's, or rather Brother Zachariah's, violin playing. That song was what Jem hummed now, and Tessa drew up the courage to ask him what she wanted to before she entered the kitchen, since she was still hidden behind the empty doorframe that led to the room in which Jem stood.

For what she wanted to ask Jem was not just about whether they were to be married soon in New York, where they should travel, or anything about their life together, though those questions weighed on her mind also. No, she wanted to ask him if he could remember the color of Will's eyes.

Tessa walked into the kitchen, morning light streaming through the window, broken up by the soft yellow curtains, the prism hanging from the frame casting rainbows about the room, reflecting off of Jem's black hair, warming his head. His back was turned away as he set the teapot in the sink, and she took a moment to marvel at the muscle clear beneath the gray shirt he wore, the contrast between the Jem she had known as a girl and the one that stood before her now. Tessa took a deep breath and began, "Jem, I have something to ask you."

"Anything, Tess," he replied, turning to smile at her.

"Tess?" she asked, avoiding the question she had intended to pose.

"Just trying it out," he said, grinning, and leaning back against the black granite countertop.

Tessa looked down and bit her lip before replying, remembering the same word on Will's lips. "Jem, you know I love you, and that my heart has always been equally divided between Will and yourself." She took another deep breath, and spared a glance at Jem before continuing. Rather than tensing at the mention of his _parabati_'s name or her mention of her love for him, he smiled encouragingly at her. "When I was with Will, all those years ago, I could finally give my heart to him, knowing that it was not at your expense. And he has been gone now, for so many years, and though I loved him and love him still, I want you to know that the memories I created with him will never interfere with the life I have with you, now. I love you with all my heart, as I will. You know, I once thought, that I would always be the girl that you loved, until the day you died. Until the day that I died. And I have been alive for many years and loved someone else and loved my children with him and my life." She paused again, looking up at Jem, who looked confused more than anything else.

"And I want you to know that despite those things, I am the girl that you love and you are the boy that I love, and that will be true forever. It is one of the things that I will always be – a mother, a friend, a wife, a warlock, and the woman that stands before you today. And I want you to know that if I didn't love you the way I do, I couldn't have loved Will the way I did, and the reverse. So I am telling you right now that despite all of that, you are the one I love and want to spend as much of our lives as we can offer to each other with you."

Jem, unable to stop himself now, strode across their tiny kitchen to her and took her up in his strong arms, and lifted her so only her toes in their green socks touched the ground. "I love you, Tessa," he whispered in her ear. She pulled back only enough to look into his eyes to say "I know. And I love you." She leaned in to brush his lips with hers, just the faintest and most innocent touching that sent shivers all the way down to her toes. She could not disturb this moment with him to ask her question about Will, so she leaned in to the kiss and breathed in the smell of Jem, like rosin and morning sunshine, no longer the burnt-sugar smell of the _yin fen_. She smiled against his lips, and in this moment, among all the others in her long life, was happy.


	2. Tessa and Jem

It had been three days since Tessa had almost asked Jem her question in the kitchen. Since then, they had grown much closer in habitation – they learned each other's eating habits: Jem liked a huge breakfast with bacon, fruit, toast, and eggs, which Tessa loathed in all of their forms. Tessa also preferred a light breakfast, which Jem made for her every morning. He rose much earlier than she did, and would always cook breakfast for the both of them and sit at the kitchen table with a cup of tea waiting for Tessa to wake up. They would eat together and then go for a walk, often to Central Park or around their neighborhood. They sometimes took the subway across town to visit museums, go to restaurants, or simply get lost somewhere and enjoy finding their way back home together.

For the apartment they shared had begun to feel like home for them both, as it was filled with dirty teacups and their clothing and a painting Magnus had given to Tessa in 1964 of a rather displeased looking cherub that had been shot with an arrow by the painting-version of Magnus, a self portrait that he had done while heavily under the influence of something, if Tessa's thoughts on the subject were correct. Nevertheless, she had hung the offending painting in the hallway to the kitchen, and had to suppress a giggle every time she passed it. There was one thing missing from their home, however, and something Tessa often wondered at. Other than Jem's occasional humming, the rooms of the tiny apartment were never filled with music the way the London Institute's had once been when they lived there together when they were both young. Another question she had wanted to ask of Jem, but hadn't, in case he felt his privacy invaded by the question. _His _violin was still at the London Institute, or it had been when Tessa had visited it a few years earlier after meeting Jem at the bridge. The residents of the Institute over the years had always kept it clean, tuned, and functioning based on the mandate of her and Will to their children, which had clearly been passed down along with the ownership of the building over the years. Tessa had often wondered over these past few days if Jem would ever want to retrieve it, and play it once more.

Tessa padded into the kitchen for breakfast to find Jem sitting at the table reading the _New York Times_. He had been fascinated by the tiny developments over the years, the ones he, as a member of the Brotherhood, hadn't witnessed the passing of. Of course, the Brothers were aware of the big things, like women's rights and the ideas of Martin Luther King Jr., of presidents and kings and computers through the years, but only in how they affected the Shadowhunters, and could never approach these developments with the acute interest that Jem reserved only for everything in the world. Jem, with all of his attention to detail, his delicate hands that could coax the most subtle and beautiful melody from a resonant box of wood, had missed all the small moments of the 20th century, and now was making up for lost time.

Occasionally, he would shout out to Tessa, saying "did you know that Bill Gates created this company that only sold things to do with computers and became the richest man in the world?" or "did you hear about that Selfridge man who changed forever the way people buy things?" or "what is Jersey Shore?" and Tessa would laugh and tell him that she had, in fact, been there for this or that event or answer his questions. It was just another minute detail in her life with Jem that she had come to love, in all of its eccentricities and small moments she swore she wouldn't let herself forget ever, like the rhythm of Jem's footsteps on the floorboards walking down the hall in the morning, the way the evening shadows slanted through their living room windows across his face turning the soft brown of his eyes a serious yet friendly black as he looked at her from across the room while she pretended to read instead of staring in wonderment of the miracle of this boy she loved.

But still. The question she was dying to ask him, that she thought only he could answer, was left unasked. She would walk into a room to ask him, but lose the will and simply find something to do there rather than posing it. Finally, perhaps, this morning she would, though perhaps not as artfully as she had planned.

Tessa walked into the kitchen, the now familiar sounds of him puttering around making breakfast echoing down the hall to wake her that morning. He turned and smiled as she walked in, her eyes still blurry with sleep though her heart raced. She returned his smile tentatively and then tactlessly blurted "do you remember what color Will's eyes were?" then clapped her hands over her mouth as if she had yelled. Rather than getting angry, looking shocked, or horrified, he smiled, though somewhat more sadly than before.

"I do remember," he said. "As a Brother, we are frozen in time, like the ice on a lake. We can peer through the ice sometimes to see what is below, but it is always clouded, as if the runes of the Brotherhood prevented me from seeing the world as I once had. When they removed the runes, it was as if the ice had melted, and I once again could see clearly into the water, before waves had disturbed what lay beneath. I can remember everything as clearly as I did as a young boy, and I especially remember Will, and you."

"You have memories, though, of being a Brother. That song you hummed, the other day. You played that song for us when Will…" she paused, a lump rising in her throat as it always did when she thought of her husband's death. But she was with Jem now, perhaps the only other person who would ever understand the way she felt, and she knew now she could be okay saying it, if not quite comfortable. She inhaled deeply, blinking away tears rising in her wide gray eyes, and continued, "when Will died."

Jem smiled thinly and replied, "yes, I do have memories, some clearer then others. But they are not so vivid, I think of the memories I had before joining the Brotherhood. The death of my _parabati_, however, is not something I'm soon to forget." He looked down, tears rising in his eyes now, and they met Tessa's eyes. "But I do remember Will's eyes, and I would tell you if I could."

Tessa could not hide the disappointment in her face, but before she could say that she understood, even if it made her sad, he said, "but I can show you."


	3. Interruptions

"Remember what I said to you, all those years ago in the music room, about _zhi yin_ and the understanding of music?" Jem asked. Tessa nodded, watching him carefully and not daring to place hope in what she thought Jem was about to say. "I can play it for you, Tessa. You said you wanted to travel with me. How do you feel about London?"

"Jem," Tessa breathed, "Jem you're sure you want this?"

He smiled at her, and she saw again the boy she had known all those years ago, who seemed to put the full force of himself into each smile, as if his entire being were smiling with his face. "Of course, Tessa. _Wo an ni_, Tessa."

"I love you too, James," Tessa replied, and suddenly the sun seemed a little brighter, the colors of their small kitchen more vivid, and the air a little sweeter. Tessa and Jem covered the distance between them in a few quick strides and crashed unceremoniously into each other's arms. This moment, Tessa thought, was a metaphor for her life with him. It would not be perfect, not after each of them with the scars of love and loss on their hearts, with the knowledge that she would outlive Jem and anyone she ever loved, but that these things did not negate the beauty and love they both felt in that moment, clasped together with her head on his chest and his chin resting on her dark hair, and the sun shining through the window while his heart beat contentedly beneath her ear, their ribs aching from the impact of crashing together and impending loss. It would never be perfect, but in these moments, one notices the beauty if imperfect things.

They stood like that for several moments, or perhaps several hours, and when they broke apart, Jem smiled at her again and Tessa felt her heart soar in her chest. She had missed this, the feeling of being loved and loving in return, that any burden was a burden shared, in the time since Will's death, and though her heart ached always with the remembrance of that loss, she knew she could share it with Jem, and they could learn to live with it together.


	4. An Unexpected Visitor

**Thank you to all of my subscribers! I am honored that you are choosing to read my writing. Seriously! The only people that ever read it are my parents, and it was so lovely to get positive feedback from all of you! Don't forget to post reviews, ****recommendations, and even what you want in the next chapters. I just discovered that I can title the chapters, so no more non-titles! From here on out there will be legit titles that actually represent the chapter. Sorry that this one is fairly uneventful - I was feeling wistful for the excellent romantic scenes in Cassie's books, so here's my go at that. Hope you enjoy!**

**_The characters and the awesome world they live in within this FanFiction belong to Cassandra Clare and her magnificent _Infernal Devices _series._  
**

That very day that Tessa had finally asked Jem her question, they began to plan their trip together. Tessa had immediately sat down in front of the computer in their living room to find a flight. Jem had laughed, saying "well you're not eager at all, are you," with a casual sarcasm she had never associated with Jem before. It wasn't rude, just as though he felt more comfortable making jokes now. Tessa couldn't help smiling as she remembered that Jem had been the same way with Will; when Will had started to say something inappropriate or biting, Jem would often interrupt with gentle sarcasm of his own, or to say "You're in a charming mood, aren't you, William?". It made Tessa happy to think that Jem felt at ease with her the way he had been with Will, and realized that she and Jem weren't just falling in love again, but also in friendship in a deeper way than they had before they were engaged. After living as long as they both had, their friendship carried different meaning and weight. Tessa's smile brightened as she replied, "you know how much I want this. Did you really think I would waste any time?"

Jem's laughing eyes became contemplative as he replied, "no, I don't suppose you would, would you? Forgive me, Tessa. I know how important this is to you, and it is the same for me. I would not want you to feel that I was making sport of something. You know how much Will means to me."

Tessa laughed now, saying "Of course I do, Jem, but there is nothing for you to forgive. I want you to speak freely. Nothing you could do would make me angry."

His thoughtful face turned mischievous and one corner of his lips lifted into an adorable crooked smile. "Even this?" he asked, lifting her out of the chair she sat in by her waist and swinging her around.

"Jem," she laughed, as the air was crushed from her lungs in the embrace. "What on earth are you doing?"

Jem ignored this and only proceeded to laugh more, swinging her legs up so he carried her with her arms linked around her neck, one arm braced against her back and the other under her knees. He walked partway down the hall and set her down against the wall, his arms on either side of her shoulders, trapping her. Tessa giggled, but when she saw Jem's face, quickly stifled it and matched his serious, almost pained expression. It was a marvel to her how easily he had lifted her, as though she weighed no more than a cat. When they were young he had been delicate and thin and shy, but now he was strong and more adventurous, though he had never lost that delicacy as she could see it now in the graceful curve of his cheekbones over which the scars of the runes from the Brotherhood had faded to faintly shiny white lines. There was the same delicacy in his soft brown eyes framed by thick black lashes, though where there had once been only shyness and affection, she saw passion in them now.

Tessa reached up her hand and ran the pad of her thumb along his cheekbones, watching his graceful eyelashes flutter as she traced the curve of his jaw, her hand coming to rest over on his chest just over his heart. Where she once would have paid attention to his pulse and whether or not it sounded strong, if he was healthy enough, she now thought only on the sensation of his heart beating through his shirt against her fingers, and how it sent tiny shivers of pleasure down her hands and all the way to her toes, making her feel deliciously dizzy.

Jem's eyes were closed still as Tessa leaned gently in to brush her lips against his, her body humming with anticipation. His eyes flew open and his hands reached up to hold her face between his palms, his long fingers brushing her hair back from her face. Heat coursed through Tessa's body as she was aware of everywhere Jem's body touched hers, from her her face to her hips where he leaned against her to her toes which she rested on top of his. He was so proper all of the time, refusing her offer to share her bedroom, holding her hand politely in public, and only brushing the chastest of kisses against her lips every night before she went to bed. There was tension in his posture now as he restrained himself, his hands trembling where they clasped her face. The pain in his expression seemed to come from his restraint as he held her gently, his lips parted with desire.

Tessa was in admiration of his restraint, but wanted now the feeling of his lips against hers in a more passionate embrace. She wound her fingers in his soft hair like pinfeathers, pulling him closer. "Jem," she whispered. "You don't have to be so careful."

"Tessa," he said, his breath tickling her face. He seemed to hesitate, making Tessa's heart swell with love, and then with a sigh of something like defeat, he leaned in.

His lips crashed against hers and her hands slid from his hair to his shoulders as she stood on her tiptoes to better reach his mouth. She bit his lower lip gently, and he groaned, swinging her around to press her against the other wall of the hallway. He was still careful, his lips meeting hers with grace, but his hands gripped her waist almost roughly as he kissed her once, twice, and she then lost count, fully absorbed in the marvelous feeling of being kissed by someone she loved.

It was at that precise moment that two things happened. The first was that Jem's hands dropped lower, lifting her against him so her legs wrapped around his waist, startling Tessa in a delightful way. The second was the buzzer at the front door of the apartment going off. They broke apart momentarily, looking at each other, the challenge in Tessa's eyes matched in Jem's as they dared one another to put in words what would inevitably happen. It was Jem who broke the silence: "Ignore that," he said, and Tessa could only agree. She leaned in to kiss him again, just as the buzzer went off a second time, then a third and a fourth. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Whatever it is can wait," he reassured her.

"Actually, it can't," drawled a voice from down the hall just as the air filled with blue sparks and the thick, spicy scent of magic. Leaning against the wall opposite Jem and Tessa, dressed in bright yellow pants with a purple belt, a T-shirt inexplicably reading "Millennium Lint", a navy blue blazer, and hair with enough glitter to coat the hall carpet was none other than Magnus Bane.


	5. The Past Returns

**Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers and subscribers! It brings a smile to my face whenever I see that someone has subscribed, reviewed, etc or when my awesome readers post reviews. Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Sorry I keep writing cliffhangers! I promise to have some form of resolution at the end of the next one. Some easter eggs in this one for all you fans of ****_the TMI_**** series. You guys all rock. Happy Reading!**

**_Disclaimer: These fabulous characters and the incredible world they live in are the work of the brilliant Cassandra Clare and her various books._**

Jem unceremoniously dropped Tessa in surprise as they cried at the same time, "MAGNUS!"

With a self-satisfied and teasing smile Magnus replied, "who else?"

Jem had covered his face with his hands but Tessa could feel his shoulders vibrating with laughter where he still leaned against her. Tessa ran her hands through her hair, lifting it off of her neck as she let out a breath, sighing at the way history seemed to be repeating itself. "Must you?" Tessa asked wearily, throwing Magnus a deeply annoyed look.

"Don't give me dagger eyes, Miss Gray. It's not my fault you were kissing in public when I happened to come in," he replied, teasingly.

"Magnus, you weren't invited in for a reason. It's not as if we were expecting you!" Tessa retorted furiously.

Jem, who had regained his composure for the most part, though his cheeks were still stained a deep red addressed Magnus, "and we aren't in public, Magnus. This is our home."

"Ah, my dear Mr. Carstairs," said Magnus, acknowledging Jem. "It has been too long. I see you and Tessa have picked up where you left off," he continued, throwing a jaunty wink in Tessa's direction. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, hoping that if she counted to ten very slowly she would look back and find that the warlock had gone. She counted. Jem looked down at her concernedly. Magnus stared, not disappearing despite Tessa's silent prayers. When she finally looked back at Magnus, he met her glare with an expression of utter glee at having interrupted yet another private moment in Tessa's life.

Jem finally looked away from Tessa with a kind but undeniably irked expression that he directed towards Magnus. "Forgive me, but why now, of all times, have you decided to drop by our apartment?"

"That, my dear James, is what I was planning to open with when I found you two…occupied." Magnus smirked irritatingly as he drew out the pause between words. "Something I just heard from the Conclave may be of interest in particular to Theresa, and I only came to relay the information."

"Well, what is it?" asked Tessa, frustration and curiosity warring behind her furrowed brow in equal measure. She knew how Magnus liked to draw out and dramatize his announcements of "important" information, which more often than not had to do with his taking up a new hobby. If Magnus said he had invested in a new set of bocce balls or was taking up the harpsichord, Tessa feared that she might not have been able to restrain herself from strangling him. Finally, as things with Jem became romantic, Magnus had to interrupt.

"Someone has been building a clockwork army. In this age of technology one would think that people would use something more modern, like robots or drones, but this person is obviously trying to send a message." Magnus paused, his playful expression hardening. "The Pandemonium Club is back in order, and this time, I have a personal interest in who they attack. Their leader is just like the Magister, except for the fact that she has access to much more destructive weapons than Mortmain ever did."

Tessa was speechless, terror etched across her face. It was Jem who spoke: "Magnus, you say _she_ has access to powerful weapons. Do you know who this is?"

"I do," replied Magnus, sparks crackling around his head as he grew angrier than ever. "It's someone one of my friends, a vampire, turned when he was still new. A girl named Maureen Johnson. She is angry, violent, and easily led. Someone has been whispering to her about Mortmain, and she's adopted his title for herself. She's the new Magister, Tessa."

"I don't understand, Magnus, what does this have to do with us?" Tessa queried, confused more than anything else.

Magnus looked serious, the blue sparks of anger around his head dissipating. "She has several Downworlders on her side now, ones with unusual abilities. She's begun recruiting more, even the daylighter who turned her."

"Simon Lewis?" Jem asked.

"So you've heard of him," Magnus said in answer looking impressed.

"As a Brother, news of a daylighter, one with the Mark of Cain does not go unacknowledged. He doesn't seem to be dangerous or an enemy of the Nephilim, though. I heard he was friends with the Herondale boy and the girl who creates new Marks," Jem replied.

Tessa's heart seized in her chest. "Herondale?" she squeaked.

"Yes, and Tessa, that's not all," Magnus said alarmingly. "She has many powerful allies, despite the daylighter's loyalty to the Shadowhunters. Tessa, she's coming for you."

"Then I will protect her," Jem said fiercely. His eyes narrowed, though, a hint of a smile playing across his face at this time of all. "Magnus, why does your T-shirt say 'Millenium Lint?'"


	6. Jace Herondale

**Sorry this is a short one, guys, and that it's been a while since I've updated. I have been very busy, but I am trying to get into a regular schedule with my writing. Will post more soon, not just a filler chapter like this one. Still hope you enjoy. Happy reading!**

**_Disclaimer: All of the lovely characters in this story and the fantastic world they live in belong to the marvelous Cassandra Clare and her Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices series._**

"Ah," exclaimed Magnus, obviously surprised by the question. "Well, you see, my boyfriend's _parabati_'s girlfriend's best friend is in a really terrible band called Millennium Lint."

"Oh, so that's their T-shirt?" Jem queried.

"No, they don't have a T-shirt. Or a band, really. They just hang out together and occasionally play really bad guitar. Or so I'm told. I've never actually attended a practice. Or a show. Or met anyone in the band but Simon."

"Hm," Jem said, amused. "I see."

Tessa was not as concerned as she perhaps should have been given the turn of the conversation from her life being in mortal danger to the merits of 'Millennium Lint'. She was still thinking on Jem's words, and how he had mentioned a Herondale boy. Had Jem known all this time that a Herondale, perhaps her own descendant was living in New York?

"Jem," Tessa interrupted the discussion of Simon's band, "did you say 'Herondale'?"

Jem blushed slightly, clearly embarrassed to say what he was about to. "Yes, actually. I've only known him for a little while. I helped him some as a Brother. I had intended to tell you earlier, but it never seemed like the right moment."

Tessa shrugged this away, more concerned with other questions. Many crowded her mind at his words, but she decided on one. "What's he like?"

"Well I don't really know him at all," said Jem dejectedly. "But I hear Magnus knows him quite well."

"Oh, I do," smirked Magnus, and Tessa felt that she would have trouble restraining herself from smacking the grin off of his face. He liked to draw out dramatic announcements, and she grew angered. There was no way that he would understand what she was feeling in this moment, the incredible hope and terror of knowing this boy she was the great-great, however many greats grandmother of. Magnus was likely to embellish and beat around the bush, but Tessa was dying to know. He seemed to express the anger and tension in her expression, and decided to tell her the truth in a hurry. "He's just like Will," Magnus finished.

Tessa's heart constricted in her chest, and she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding. Magnus continued. "He's strong, and smart. He's very brave and very sarcastic and not without arrogance. And Alec tells me he hates ducks."

Tessa couldn't help but to smile at this, and her heart burned with longing to meet this boy that she already felt love for. Leaving her children had felt like ripping her heart and stomach out of her own body, and she had always questioned that decision. She knew that she couldn't have survived watching them grow old and die though. Now she felt hope, as if she could atone for that abandonment with her care for this boy. All this ran through her head as Jem asked, "Where is he? Can we meet him?"

At this, Tessa nodded eagerly and looked to Magnus imploringly. "You'll have to ask him yourself if he wants to meet with you, though I'm sure he'd be interested."

"His name," Tessa began, realizing that she didn't yet know it. "What's his name?"

Magnus smiled. "Jonathan Christopher Herondale. Everyone calls him Jace, though."

"Jace," Tessa whispered, and her heart swelled with love for him, though she had not yet met him. She turned to Jem, his eyes as hopeful as hers, and she remembered how important it would be to him to meet the great-great-grandson of his _parabati_.

"Let's go meet him," Jem said, and despite the fact that Magnus was standing right there, he leaned down to press his lips softly against Tessa's.


	7. (Another) Ill - Timed Visit

**I am sorry that it has been so long since I last updated! I have had a crazy few weeks at school and have been woefully behind in my writing schedule. So, finally, here is the next installment in Life After Clockwork Princess - Be forewarned, this chapter is about 99% fluff, because I ship Jessa all the way and am missing happy romantic scenes. The next chapter will have a bit more substance and will hopefully feed the plot bunnies. Alright! Hope you enjoy. Happy Reading!**

**_As you all know, I do not own the characters or the fictional world in this story. They belong to the magnificent Cassandra Clare and her Infernal Devices/Mortal Instruments series respectively. No matter how many times I email her, she just won't fax me the rights... Maybe because I don't have a fax machine... or because nobody uses fax machines anymore (I was informed of this today to my dismay). Ah, well. _**

It had been two days since Magnus had told Tessa of the looming battle between Maureen and the Shadowhunters. More importantly, it had been two days since Magnus had told her about Jace. She couldn't help but imagine what he would look like, what his voice would sound like, what kind of boy, or rather man, he would be the same way she had so many years ago when she was pregnant with her own children. From what little Magnus had told Tessa, Jace sounded like Will. He was strong, smart, funny, and fiercely devoted to his family. Tessa only hoped that she could become someone he loved too. Magnus said he had grown up with his _parabati_'s parents teaching him most of what he knew about the world. She wished she could have been there to raise him, rather than Valentine, rather than Alec's parents.

Despite all of her joy at getting to meet one of her descendants, the threat of mortality loomed. Jace would die. Jem would die. Tessa was the only constant, a rock held steady beneath the earth while the river of finite human life rushed around her. Immortality was a terrifying concept, and Tessa had learned to live with it, if not to accept it. She often thought, since being with Jem again, that she might be able to live with him forever, that he would become a vampire or some other immortal being. But Tessa would not wish the burden of immortality on anyone, not even her enemies, much less the people she loved. Her chest felt hollow and dry when she thought of a world without Jem, and it was all she could do not to cry herself to sleep at night. Tessa was steadfast in this, though: that she would not waste a second of her time with the people she loved, however short a span that may be.

Tessa decided that she would talk to Jem once more about getting married. They had been re-engaged for a while now, and she wanted to be married to him. The morning of her decision to ask Jem about the wedding, the sun rose high in the sky. It was nearing the end of summer, right at that time where the sun still shined brightly, but would not radiate heat as much. The air was becoming more biting every day, and it was almost wool sweater weather. This was Tessa's favorite time of year, where the world seemed to rest at the end of the road of summer, not yet ready to drop into the chill of winter. She looked out her window and smiled nervously at the sun, then walked down the hallway and into the living room where Jem sat, sipping tea from a purple mug. Tessa had made that mug, and another, a robin's-egg blue one that she had given to a friend nearly seventeen years ago.

She clenched her fists, hidden by the long sleeves of the plaid flannel shirt she had slept in. "Jem," she began, and he lifted his soft brown eyes from the study of his tea to her gray ones as she spoke. "I've been meaning to ask when you thought we should get married."

Jem's eyes widened, and he inhaled sharply as he replied, "Oh, I am so glad you mentioned it. Ha," he breathed, with a small smile. "I didn't want to ask you in case you felt rushed."

"That's exactly why I hadn't asked earlier!" Tessa exclaimed, and she saw his face fall, misinterpreting her statement. "No," she hastily continued, "I meant, I didn't want you to feel rushed!"

"Oh!" he said again, softly. Then he began to chuckle quietly. He set his mug down on the coffee table with his right hand and reached for Tessa with his left. She walked shyly towards him and sat down on the couch beside him. She curled into Jem's body as his arm went around her back, coming to rest against her head and stroke her hair. "I suppose that was rather silly of us, then, wasn't it?"

Tessa turned her head into his chest and nodded, smiling. She spoke into his chest, feeling his heart beating gently against her lips: "How do you feel about an October wedding?"

"I think that would be lovely," he said, his breath catching lightly as he spoke. Tessa could feel Jem's heartbeat quicken as she began to draw patterns with her fingertips across his chest, along his delicate collarbone. "Tessa," he breathed, and caught her hand with his. She leaned away, smiling as he sighed at her movement away from him, but she wanted to look into his eyes.

"I love you, Jem," she said, but before he could reply, she crashed her lips against his. His hands moved to cup her face gently and then traveled to her hips as he pulled her more tightly against him. Tessa was lost in the taste of his lips, like tea and sunshine, and she bit his lower one gently. She reveled in the small sigh he released when she did, and he kissed her more vigorously. Jem pushed Tessa back against the arm of the couch, their lips never separating. Tessa could feel her own heart pounding in her chest. She began to feel light-headed and broke the kiss only for a moment to breathe. As she pulled back, she realized that perhaps the couch would not be the best place to kiss.

"Why don't we go into the other room," Tessa whispered, gesturing with her head down the hall towards her bedroom.

"Mmm, that sounds good," Jem replied, and somehow swung her so he carried her bridal style out of the living room and towards her room. It was one of those moments that was so perfect, Tessa couldn't help but wonder what would go wrong. She decided to ignore this thought, and instead pressed her lips to Jem's in a gentle kiss, just the merest brush that still sent tingles of excited energy all the way down to her toes. She would regret dismissing her previous thought in a few seconds however, because that was when Magnus appeared right behind them in the living room, accompanied by none other than Jonathan Herondale.


	8. Tess

**Hola, amigos. Well, it's been a while since I've updated, so I would first off like to apologize for the delay. This chapter is short, but will perhaps feed all of the plot bunnies. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Happy Reading!**

_**All characters and their magictastical world belong to the brilliant Cassandra Clare and her TMI/TID works respectively. No matter how many times I tweet her, she just won't send me the rights. Ah well...**_

Jace and Magnus stared as Jem dropped Tessa in shock and her feet hit the ground. There was an awkward moment of silence before Jace finally spoke.

"Magnus, why is my great-great-great grandmother kissing Brother Zachariah?"

Magnus addressed Jace, a mischievous glint in his yellow cat-like eyes. "Believe me, I have asked myself the same question many, many times. Why is it that every time I visit you, you seem to be kissing someone?" Magnus now spoke to Tessa. Embarrassment darkened her cheeks as she looked down and mumbled incoherently. Jem seemed thoroughly amused by the whole exchange, and he reached his hand down surreptitiously to link his pinky finger with Tessa's as she stuttered.

"Do you just spend all of your time kissing, or do you just start up as soon as you know I'm coming?" Magnus chuckled at Tessa's blush.

"Well, we didn't know you were coming! It's our business what we do in our home!" Tessa fumed.

"Oh by the Angel tell me you're not one of those couples that always talks with "we" and "our". _We_ like to kiss when Magnus visits. _We _adore the theater. _We_ hope you like our Christmas gift." Jace rolled his eyes, and tears threatened in Tessa's, though if they were from anger or the realization that this boy was just like Will, she didn't know.

"Ugh, _you_! _You _sound just like your sister!" Magnus glowered at Jace. Tessa shot a puzzled look in Magnus's direction. "Not his biological sister," he clarified. "And what's wrong with being one of those couples? I think it's sweet how they talk about things together," Magnus said, for once siding with Tessa on the intensity of her relationship. The wistfulness in his expression however, indicated that he had recently been half of one of those couples, or, knowing Magnus, more likely two-thirds with his flamboyant personality. Tessa made a mental note to ask him about this boyfriend of his later.

"Have you met Clary?" asked Jace, addressing Magnus's earlier comment. "Most greater demons are less independent than she is."

Magnus acknowledged this comment with a nod of his glittery head, then turned to Tessa and Jem. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to formally introduce you, Theresa Gray, to your great-great-great-grandson, Jonathan Herondale."

Tessa was speechless, a rare occurrence for her. As if dreaming, she walked towards him and reached out her hand to shake his. He tentatively reached his arm forwards and shook her hand. In that moment, nothing happened outwardly. Inside, however, Tessa's body was quaking with fear and excitement at the possibility of a future knowing this boy who already seemed so much like Will that it hurt. Tessa could sense Jem behind her, and heard his sharp intake of breath when her hand had met Jace's. He already knew Jace, but seemed to understand how it must have been feeling for her to meet him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Theresa. Grandma? What should I call you?" Jace was formal and polite but distant, though he met her eye as he spoke.

"Oh," Tessa whispered. "Definitely not Grandma!" She breathed a laugh, and his eyes crinkled the way Will's once had as he laughed with her. "You can call me Tessa. Most people do."

"Well then, it's hardly any special favor to me, is it?" Jace asked in a way that could have been perceived as rude, but seemed more sarcastic. Jem took a shuddering breath behind her, and she glanced back to see his eyes filled with tears. She knew she would have to ask him about that later. "Sorry, I didn't mean that rudely."

Tessa smiled warmly as she began to feel the shards of her heart in her chest mending, as they had been for a few weeks now. She had known heartbreak, and had never fully felt whole since Will's death, until finding Jem again. This boy, Jace Herondale, felt like the final piece in the puzzle that had been her life for one hundred and thirty years. Things began to make sense again when Jace spoke.

"Why don't I call you Tess?"


End file.
